Stage 5 (or, originally, "Stage V") is an unofficial stage at the
Walnut Valley Festival
The Walnut Valley Festival is an acoustic music festival held annually in Winfield, Kansas, United States. The main genre of music is bluegrass, but a wide variety of other acoustic styles are represented. The festival is held on the Wednesday ...
, an annual
bluegrass festival in
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College.
Hi ...
, United States.
Stage 5 website
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Set up in the Pecan Grove campground, the informal stage began in 1987 when camper Russell Brace and friends built it on the back of a 1954 Chevrolet 4100 1-1/2 ton flatbed truck. The stage is so-named because the festival proper has four main stages.
The stage was immediately popular and is now a cherished tradition at the annual event.
Audiences at Stage 5 can usually expect to hear typical acoustic string instruments. However, many musicians, while there, part from traditional bluegrass styles and emphasize a looser, more rock-oriented interpretation of roots music
Roots music may refer to:
* American folk music
* Americana (music)
Americana (also known as American roots music) is an amalgam of Music of the United States, American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that mak ...
.
Several notables have played Stage 5. Among them: Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...
, The Wilders, Bodhi Linde, Beppe Gambetta
Beppe Gambetta (born 1955) is an Italian acoustic guitarist and singer. A native of Genoa, he is a composer, teacher, author, and researcher of traditional music and instruments.
Music career
In 1977, Gambetta founded Red Wine, an Italian blue ...
, an early incarnation of the The Chicks
The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and ...
, and Split Lip Rayfield.
See also
*List of bluegrass music festivals
This is a list of bluegrass music festivals that have Wikipedia articles or are otherwise verified by an independent, reliable, published source. This list may have some overlap with the umbrella topic list of folk festivals, and more complete ...
*List of folk festivals
A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods.
Handicraf ...
References
External links
*{{Commons category-inline
Stage 5 website
Folk festivals in the United States
Music festivals in Kansas
Bluegrass festivals
Music festivals established in 1987